Chris Owens (basketball)
Haywood Christopher Owens | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1, 1979 |
| Occupation | Former professional basketball player |
| Known for | Brief tenure in the NBA, international basketball career |
Haywood Christopher Owens (born March 1, 1979) is a former American professional basketball athlete who had a brief tenure in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Standing at and weighing 250 pounds, he occupied the power forward role on the court.
College career
Owens began his collegiate basketball journey at Tulane University for one season before transferring to The University of Texas at Austin, where he completed his studies in 2002. His college tenure was notably affected by a knee injury that ended his season prematurely on December 29, 2001, during a matchup against Utah.
Professional career
Selected in the second round of the 2002 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, Owens was subsequently traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. He appeared in a single NBA contest on April 15, 2003, during which he recorded 4 points and grabbed 1 rebound.
Prior to moving overseas in 2004, Owens competed in the United States Basketball League with the Cedar Rapids River Raiders. Upon relocating to Europe, he signed with Banca Nuova Trapani, where over 30 games he averaged 19.1 points and 9.1 rebounds.
In 2005, Owens joined CB Granada competing in Spain's ACB League, though his stint ended in January 2006. Following this, he played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the Continental Basketball Association and later signed with Greek club Panionios.
For the 2006–07 campaign, Owens was contracted by German team ALBA Berlin, and the following season saw him compete in Turkey's premier league with Galatasaray.
Owens transferred to Ukrainian side BC Donetsk in 2008, remaining there until February 2010 before joining Greek outfit Panellinios. In September 2010, he signed with French club Gravelines, appearing in four matches before returning to Ukraine later that year to play for Azovmash.
During the 2011–12 season, Owens was part of Croatian team KK Cedevita. In July 2013, he secured a one-year deal with Finnish squad KTP-Basket. Continuing his international career path, he signed with Argentine club Argentino de Junín in September 2014.
Personal life
Owens is related as the great-nephew to Jesse Owens, the renowned African-American track and field athlete of the 1930s who earned four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.
Regular season
|- | align="left" | 2002–03 | align="left" | Memphis | 1 || 0 || 6.0 || .667 || – || – || 1.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 4.0